The Harem Collection

It wasn't until I wrote "Inside the Harem" for the Behind the Bazaar blog that I realized what to name this collection of stone and ribbon jewelry.

These pieces were found in the Cevahir Bedesten, the place to go for jewelry in Istanbul's Grand Covered Bazaar. Two friends and I were wandering the labyrinth of the Bazaar when these necklaces stopped us all in our tracks.

 

Each piece is designed by the jewelry designer of the shop and then hand-worked together by students at a local girls' trade school. He uses a mixture of semi-precious stones, roughly-torn ribbon, and accents of traditional Turkish colors like turquoise blue, pearl white, and coral red.

I was lucky enough to pick up some earrings and a couple bracelets before he closed his shop.

 

Now a selection of these pieces are on offer at Nest, where 30% of the sale of each purchase goes to fund microloans for women building craft-based businesses.